T H E A R T O F A C R O Y O G A - Pip Elysium

T H E A R T O F A C R O Y O G ASeries | - Sequencing and Partnerships

By Pip Elysiumpipelysium.com

I N T R O D U C T I O N

'Whilst yoga explores the union of mind andbody, AcroYoga explores the union between two

people. It's a journey where unfamiliar posesbecome elegant transitions and challenging

sequences, eventually flow like a movingmeditation.' - AcroYogaDance

The focus of this book is based on my experience

of exploring the effortless flow withinAcroYoga, to create a truly beautiful art . In this

book we explore the potential of partnership,learning the foundations of AcroYoga andelements of transitions to form beautiful

sequences.

This knowledge will soon lead you to a creative physical art form, whether you are a novice inAcroYoga or you consider yourself an expert. We look at the methodology of practice and

how to succeed in creating beautiful art withinthe culture of AcroYoga.

AcroYoga for a long time has presented as a

playful art, full of high level tricks and fun formany practitioners. Whilst of course there is alsovaluable potential in the art of connection, trust,

inclusiveness and community, there is alsoanother piece of magic within AcroYoga. This iswhere although you can still receive the benefitsof playfulness and partnership, but you can have

the enjoyment and possibility of creatingsomething beautiful to inspire others.

pipelysium.com | page 1

After completing this book you will understand the formula tolead you to a successful practice of sequencing. You will learnthe Art of AcroYoga from the perspective of my personaljourney where I came from leaving ballet school and the danceworld to becoming a well known AcroYoga professional andopening two dedicated AcroYoga Studios in Central London.

With a systematic approach studied as a teacher and co-founder of AcroYogaDance, the formula documented has beenimplemented into many partnerships, along with returningstudents at our membership studios in London. We look at thesubtle differences in partnerships and how it all neatlybecomes art with the right intention and progression.

What if there was a formula that was a solutionto solve a few problems and you were able toreceive better results from the practice?


C O N T E N T

T H E B E G I N N I N GMy story

P A R T N E R S H I PThe secret to AcroYoga and how to find it

C A L I B R A T I O NThe importance of calibration

S E Q U E N C I N GTransitioning and how to begin sequencing

S Y L L A B U SElements of the studio approved Syllabus


My name is Pip. I am the co founder of AcroYogaDance & School of AcroYoga. Sincedeveloping a passion for the practice of AcroYoga Ihave found myself on a journey of finding out whatworks, what fails and a true passion, love and anincredible commitment to the art.

What first drew me to AcroYoga was the potentialto learn and practice something beautiful. Ofcourse it is exercise, but it is also a creative art inthe process. And so AcroYogaDance, the movement,was born with co founder, Eugene Butcher; and ourmethodology was created.

THE BEGINNING


I've always grown up in an artistic environment. My mum, wasa former Ballerina and my father a Travel Photographer. Our

household was always in the process of finding ways to beartistic. Born in London and growing up in the countryside, myparents built a wooden American style house which enabled me

to play creatively. Having a photography and dance studiodownstairs at my disposal, was a valuable time for me at a

young age to create.

I was first inspired by AcroYoga on Youtube. I somehow cameacross a fast paced AcroYoga sequence led by Chelsey & MattGiadano. I was blown away by both of them, with the beauty

that was created. Not only the delicate and intricate movementsequence they had clearly worked on for some time, but the

beautiful connection of joy they had with each other.

Although having been excited by their performance, I decidedto put it on the back burner. I thought it was not possible forme to have that form of strength, to balance myself on top ofanother person. I was so wrong. I was not aware at the time

how impactful this video would become later on for me.


I first experienced AcroYoga in 2014properly, after trying to lift friendsin funny unrecognisable positions. My first AcroYoga partner, Eugenehad some experience and waslooking for a practice partner andinvited me to come and practicewith him.

On a beautiful sunny day, we met inthe park which overlooked the sea. Iwill never forget the moment ofbeing upside down, viewing the deep blue sea in the distance. Iwhispered 'wow' in excitement withthe beauty of the movement, thefeeling and sensation it gave, andthe connection we had. My mindwas in creative overload.

A few years after creating manybeautiful videos on AcroYoga, webecame teachers and travelled toteach Workshops worldwide,including Europe and Asia.

In 2018 our understanding of thepractice doubled since opening theworld's first dedicated AcroYogastudio. Developing a step by stepprogressive syllabus, building onnew found knowledge, we createdthe foundations for beginners andintermediates to advancedpractitioners.


" W H A T W A S T H E M O S T E X C I T I N GT H I N G W A S T H A T W H A T W E W E R E

D O I N G W A S W O R K I N G ! "


T H E S T U D I O

Being in the studio every day, day in and day out, we met all shapes and sizes ofbodies and abilities. We also had the consistency of seeing the same students eachweek and monitoring their development. This gave us the experience and clarity todevelop AcroYoga in a partnership based practice, and see the direction of wherestudents, practioners and teachers could take the practice. It has been an excitingjourney of exploration.

It took commitment to consolidate the methodology within the studio, but as ourmethods grew, our students did also. The clarity of structure within our syllabus, ourstructure and style of teaching and partnerships became much more recognisableover the course of the years.As we developed the syllabus, and the 'older' students started to progress, newerstudents had the advantage of progressing more quickly and it became excitingcreatively for the students as well as the teachers at the studio.


P A R T N E R S H I P

T H E S E C R E TLet me tell you a secret. One of the great secrets to creating beautiful, flowing AcroYoga

is to find yourself a dedicated AcroYoga Partner.

The mistake for many is working with lots of people. Every time you change partners,you are re-learning their body, calibrating each time and re-building trust. Without

consistency, the progression will take much longer and the results might not be as clear.


D E D I C A T I O N

In an ideal world, you would work with someone

who can transmit their understanding to you.This is what we call transmission. Unfortunately,for most of us we all have to start from the very

beginning.

This should not daunt you or your partner, sincethe resources available such as the

AcroYogaDance Syllabus is available to you.We've done the hard work of working out theprogressions, so all you need to do is find orbuild a partnership that suits you both and

follow a formula to help you reach the success towhich you aspire.

Towards the end of the partnerships chapter,you will find foundations and elements of oursyllabus. This is enough to get you started and

have a clear picture on the journey ahead.


Sometimes an AcroYogaPartnership isn't chosen, ithappens for many reasons whichincludes circumstances such ashusband/wife orboyfriend/girlfriend.

However if you are lucky enoughto look for a partner, there aresome things to consider and wewill look at this in greater detail:

Proportions- Strengths & weaknesses- Values- Trust- Team Player- Similar vision and interests

CHOOSING YOURPARTNERSHIP


Proportion and strength are bigcontributors to the things you may ormay not be able to do so easily.

The flyer is recommended to be samesize or smaller than the base. Thisdoes not mean just height, this meansweight also. AcroYoga is based uponphysics, and if we find ourselveslifting something that we are notready for in terms of strength, this iswhen injury can happen. The questionwe must ask ourselves is 'Does it feelright for your body?'.

This is a very sensitive subject withinthe AcroYoga community. Theretends to be this idea that anyone canlift anyone, to create inclusiveness.This idea is lovely, however whensmall girls are flying heavy grown menor heavier women flying on smallermen, it takes only a wrong movementor lack of understanding to end anyAcroYoga enjoyment.

This is where if choosing an AcroYogapartner, you should ideally matcheach others bodies, thus sustaininglongevity in the partnership. Building strength and flexibility will also sortout imbalances if the partnership issomewhat mis- matched.

PROPORTIONS UNCOVERED

What is beautiful for the moreadvanced practitioner is that they canalso play around with what is possible.If two advanced practitioners domeet, the rules may still apply to anextent but because of the experience,proportions may actually then not beas important.

It's possible to teach beginnersAcroYoga without much movementbackground and with very littlestrength. You will find however, themore you progress in AcroYoga - themore it is needed to do your ownpractice.

We call using different backgroundsof movement within AcroYoga, crosstraining. When you cross train, itforms a unique partnership and youare able to work to your strengths. It'snot to be forgotten that to be wellrounded in AcroYoga is to also trainspecific muscle groups to enable youto progress in certain transitions andtechniques.


As mentioned previously, transmission can be a verygood way to start your journey with AcroYoga, but noteveryone has the opportunity to learn from someoneexperienced. It's also possible that someone with'experience' may also have their own thoughts,perceptions on AcroYoga. Not that it's a bad thing, butthis can contribute to habits and differences in choices.

When you are looking for a partner, you may want toconsider an option of finding someone who is completelynew to AcroYoga. The advantage of this is that you willbe free from any habits that have been picked up and youcan find someone who compliments you.

There is such a vast choice to choose from, however ifyou look for someone within an AcroYoga community,like any school or genre - it's possible you may belimiting yourself.

It's best to write a list of the things you will be lookingwithin for a partner (strengths, background, availability,values) and also the things you can give to thepartnership. Keeping that in mind, you should ask, 'doesthis the partnership excite you?' If so, then this willbecome easy since you know what you are already lookingfor. If we can be specific in our ideal, our search willbecome much easier

HOW TO LOOK FOR A PARTNER


Looking for a base with transferrableskills: Yoga/Yoga Teachers,Handstand Practitioners,Acrobats/Gymnasts, Dancers, MartialArtists & Cheerleading bases.

If you decide to look into finding anacrobat/gymnast, be aware that theymay have trained in cheer or acrogymnastics. This is fine though theymay already have their own way ofdoing things and may be harder tofollow along a progressive AcroYogaprogramme

Personal Trainers are also an obviousdiscipline to look at. They may havesupporting mobility exercises asweight lifting, which can then limittheir flexibility in shoulders, whichwill create struggle in progressionlater on.

Looking for a flyer with transferrableskills: Dancer/Teacher, Yoga/YogaTeacher, Gymnasts and Pilatesteachers could all present differentopportunities.

Tip: Although pole dancers may seemlike an obvious discipline to approach,unless they have another practice orwork on mobility - many have tightshoulders and might therefore lackmobility for things like hand to hand.

You can look for your ideal partnerwith your chosen discipline in mind,ivisiting various classes, gyms etc.Attending a peak time yoga class(even online) may indicate that thepotential partner has a 9-5 job. Notnecessarily, but likely. If you arefreelance and can fit in practiseduring the day this may feel like asmall obstacle .Therefore, you willneed to see if you are happy that yourpractice may be limited to a fewevenings a week, and weekends only.


T H E I M P O R T A N C E O FP A R T N E R S H I P

A few months after myself and my first dedicated partnerdecided to end our partnership, we were asked to performat a local venue we both loved supporting. Of course, we

both wanted to go along so we turned up to the venue withthe understanding that we would do our usual sequencethat we had performed for several years and were alwayssatisfied with the results. It was our 'go to' sequence, and

knew it inside out.

Half way through the sequence, I had fallen out. It feltfrustrating but didn't think much and decided to jump

back in. We attempted again, and unbelievably I had fallenout again. This time, we knew something was wrong...

We were lucky, since this was a casual party at the venue

and no one was really taking much notice, they were moreinterested in chat and beer. So it gave us opportunity to

try it again. We ended up giving up on the transition andcarried on.

What we didn't process at the time is that I had been

practicing with another person. It had also turned out thatthe transition we were getting stuck on, was something I

drilled many times with my new partner to correct. So it isclear that partnerships cannot be changed back and forth

without consequences.


E X P L O R A T I O N

Ice skating as a partnership is one of the most in sync,beautiful and also dangerous sports. Thesepartnerships don't have time to change around. If theydo, their hard work is only but crushed. One slip upon the ice and that could be their career ended.

Calibration in AcroYoga, is one of the mostfundamental things that we could look for from asafety point of view, but there is also the opportunityto explore and create . The Art of AcroYoga is allbased on calibration. Calibration is something youjust have to practice, to understand each othersbodies, likes and dislikes. It's the understanding ofthat unique touch to your partnership that drives youforward to having bodies flow in union.

Being able to feel good movement is a really reliableway to calibrate. Try not using video and trustingeach other to find what feels good. To get in such syncwith each other is your priority to what feels good andright. When it feels good you'll perform it better andthe connection you'll have will deepen. Ask for whatyou need within the moment. You can have thegreatest couple together in terms of ability butwithout the connection and emotion, we are leftwithout soul. Soulless art


C A L I B R A T I O N

Calibration is a huge part towards your success in AcroYoga. Everyone has adifferent body and we calibrate as we adjust to them. Changing partners orworking with several partners can confuse motor skills. When working withanother person it un- does hours of work and although possible to re-callibrate,it can be a hugely inefficient use of time. You don't want to have to start aneweach time you meet,

Calibration is what brings connection and the beauty to AcroYoga. Withoutconnection, the partnership is always working hard to get to a point of smoothand seamless transitions. It's the understanding of one another's bodies, thesensitivity of trust and the empathetic emotions and feelings, through nonverbal and verbal communication, that defines connection.

So, when you are to do a project with someone, or you are certain you have a partner for AcroYoga, it's good to have this clarity and understanding betweenyou regarding calibration.


C A S E S T U D Y

Within our dedicated AcroYoga Studio, we tend to help match students withtheir partners and keep in small groups, so everyone is familiar with each otherover a 6 month period.

We have played an exercise where we lined up the bases on the floor, and flyerswere able to, one by one, cartwheel in and out down the line on each base.From just watching a new group to AcroYoga, it was clear that this exercisebrought an air of unease to the flyers and therefore the execution of themovement varied.

This was a valuable exercise to the students. We brought the students in, with adiscussion of their experience. The general feedback was the same, not knowingeach others bodies and capabilities brought a lot of uncertainty in themovement. Whereas when they came to the partnership / group that they knew,- the movement and action was reliable and consistent with each other. Trustwas also a big part of what allowed the movement to be possible.

The only positive feedback was that when a more experienced practitioner flew a less experienced student - it was helpful for the person learning tounderstand the technique to be guided more. This is what we mentionedearlier, a technique called transmission.


T H E B E A U T Y O F P A R T N E R S H I P

It's likely when looking for a partnership that you'll discover somewonderful partners but your lives might not fit together. You may

also discover that some partnerships and dynamics don't work withyours. It's ok for things not to work and being honest with yourself

and to the person you're working with.

There are times when we can make things work by compromising.However, if we are finding we are adjusting too much for that

person which alters our long term goals as a partner, it might notbe the right partner for you. It's difficult to tell from the

beginning, so having a project with a time frame will be a goodindication as to how much they are willing to show up and to be

part of your vision as well as being part of theirs.

When on the search for a partnership or working with your newpartner it's going to feel uncomfortable, disorientating. These are

all the things a new partnership goes through at times whenworking on practice and building a relationship. There are times

when we will adjust to the partners needs to help compliment andvice versa. This can be psychological, emotional, or physical. This

is the beauty of a partnership and can be much like anyrelationship.


I have also been lucky enough to have witnessed, after searchingfor a couple of years and doing many projects, a dedicated

partnership that sprang from connection.

My boyfriend Tom at the time, became my dedicatedpartnership after explaining to him what I was looking for in a

ideal AcroYoga partnership. I was clear with him from thebeginning, and although it took some time for him and

everybody to adjust around us; the results were significantlydifferent.

We met at my AcroYoga Studio in London. He had already had a

foundational experience in AcroYoga and although it wasn'texactly what I was looking for, it was something to explore.

He was an incredibly quick learner, so it was easy for me to

transmit a lot of knowledge to him. We had to work withinjuries, so although we had a few things against us - we were

both dedicated to the art.

We produced our first video within the same year and althoughour partnership is currently low key, it was evident that

transmission and a dedicated partnership guided us to what thatpartnership became.


G R O W T H

If you find that you lack strength and flexibility in anarea that cannot be supported by your partner, the

wonderful thing is that it is something we can alwayswork on - even in adulthood. Of course there are some

things that we may not be able to change such as a diseaseor disability, but in context if you have tight hamstringsfor example - this is something that you can improve and

generally work on.

If looking for a partner or working with a loved one,consider the growth of the partnership and the potentialrather than what they can do now. We all love an elementof change in our lives, and the partnership is something

we can look forward to grow into, rather than beingrooted into what's already there.


V A L U E S

When choosing an AcroYoga partner, it will most likely be a natural thing for you toconsider your potential partners values, and whether they are similar to yours. Thismay take a little time. The best way of figuring this out without committing yourselfcompletely is to do a dedicated project.

You will need to consider practical things also such as do they fit into your lifestyle,and can you fit into theirs? It's possible that the partnership works very well butrealistically if they have a very demanding job or live in another place, or they arenot wanting the same thing as you do in terms of practice and partnership , you mayneed to reconsider. Take into consideration into how much you'd like to practice asthis will inevitably impact later on.

Once looking at logistics as to whether your lives fit, the deep values of what is mostimportant to you will also need to be considered. Such as if you were to enter into a dedicated partnership, consider why you both want to do AcroYoga in the firstplace. Is it for connection, beauty, giving etc?

The relationship between partners will bloom as much as it is being nourished. If youfully commit yourself, it can be time and energy consuming, however highly fulfilling.


C O M M U N I C A T I O N

Building trust isn't something you can create instantly especiallywhen you are trying some adventurous or difficult techniques. Of

course it's dependent on personality type and past experiences. It'simportant to communicate any past experiences that might stop

you in moments of learning or executing a movement.

Building trust with your partner is being clear and asking for whatyou need within the moment. We refer to having three types of

communication to help build trust.

Verbal:Checking in with your partner

Non verbal

Tactile techniques

When meeting/working with someone, it is necessary to betransparent from the beginning. Allowing to self assess and

communicate when you are uncertain of a movement or not ready,will only build rapport and trust.


C A P A B I L I T I E S

Calibrating leads to finding things to work on. One of the mistakesa new partnership could make is working on hard tricks. Here are a

few reasons why it could be a mistake: Tricks take a lot ofdedication, a lot of trial and error and are not always successful. Itcan take many years to complete a trick and the time spent on that,

could be spent on creating art more within your capabilities.

Tricks that you see that are well done, are most likely someone whohas dedicated their whole life to or had an intense period wherethey trained HARD. It's not to say you can't too, it's a differentdirection. If you are dedicating to high level tricks, this may be

more of a 5-10 year plan depending on your partnership,background, ability and dedication.

You'll see tricks being done all over the world but the most obvious as an example is LA Acro Jam. It's full of tricks like Standing toIcarian. The thing that isn't obvious when looking at the jam, is

that the people doing extreme tricks are most likely either trainingat San Diego Circus Centre, or they have some training related

such as Cirque Du Soleil.


M E T H O D O L O G Y

Having that in mind, although the community seemsinclusive in most jams, the tricks are almost elitist forthose who have not yet dedicated their life to it as acareer or competition. This is what 75% of those whopractice AcroYoga get drawn into after a while andlose their normal practice.

AcroYoga is incredibly empowering and helps peopleto see the possibility of 'if they can do that, what elsecan they do?' Their goals get much bigger afterbelieving they are able to do something they could notdo. There are always pros and cons to this.

From an artists point of view, it's very interesting toalso see that some tricks that are clearly worked onfor years, don't get the recognition they deserve.

It may go over the audience's heads whilst the easiestcounterbalances get the biggest applause. It's not tosay that tricks are not fun and useful.

The point we are making is simply that tricks lookappealing and fun but they can distract partnershipsfrom the attention of The Art Of AcroYoga with flow,callibration, sequences and seamless transitions.


T H E P O T E N T I A L

It's an exciting stage when you get to the point where both of you are keen toexplore your potential and idea of a dedicated partnership. You may want toexplore this in multiple ways. However, having a focus of a project is a funand exciting way to help determine whether this partnership is long lasting

or just a 'fling'.

Dish out a variety of ideas that would help you and your partner becomeexcited creatively. Draft out what practice would look like for both of you

and block out the times in your schedule.

K N O W I N G Y O U R S E L F

In AcroYoga it's important to remember that working with another person you canencounter and can pin things that you may need to work on within yourself, or withthe other person. It's also easy to be influenced or influence yourself to what you orthe partnership believes in.

If you can be subjective, the world opens up.

I went to a professional dance school in my teenage years. It was strictly ballet, with 1contemporary class and the option to stay on after working hours to do other thingssuch as tap. I was not able to conform to the whole system - being a teenager, notwanting ballet enough and not being on the right side of the teacher.

I was bullied at dance school towards the middle of my time there by the mainteacher and my tutor. My ballet teacher stopped correcting, adjusting and shadowedme into her idea of a failure. I didn't pick things up quickly enough being dyslexicand a week before I left, with extensive dyslexia tests the penny dropped for theteachers. I lost enthusiasm of my passion to dance. As I left the dance school myballet teacher said I shouldn't dance again. I left the studio in the hope that herwords would not affect me, but for the following year I was not able to dance. Slowlyafter, I was able to ease myself back in after my time at college and university. I wasdrawing and creating extensively for dancers and movement and environments fordancers. This was a sign that I needed to start dancing and moving again.


This small knock had ample effect when it came to movement later on, which

included AcroYoga. There have been times of doubt when there shouldn'thave been.

The past shouldn't equal the future. Though when we experience something

negative or traumatic in our lives through movement, it's important toacknowledge these to be able to solve issues. Having a strict background in

ballet had caused communication to be difficult for me.

This may be not relative to you, however the example I have given of my ownexperience is quite common. Partners sometimes find blocks within

movement. These small traumas can initially stop your partnership frommoving forward. Here are a few examples of common traumas that have come

up time and time again with students and partnerships I have worked with:falling and injuries, feelings of not being good enough, rejection and other

childhood traumas.

When making the connection of self belief, there is work that you must dofor yourself before being involved with any relationship or partnership. This

created problems within AcroYoga. It was actually in my first partnershipand it was outlined when our partnership became romantic. Because we were

on different pages with our values, our dynamics then outplayed theenjoyment of AcroYoga (along with AcroYoga being a business and financial

stress).

Our dynamic then focused on the belief in myself, past trauma, habits and abunch of things that I was unaware of that all led me to using movement as a

form of therapy. I had a blockage and I went to extensive amounts of selfdevelopment. With finding ways to empower myself, I found that handstandswas the thing that put me in my place every time. The journey I went through

with handstands is what many would go through with yoga.I worked with many coaches as I could both with self development and

handstands, and it helped fill a huge gap that I was missing when I wasn'tdoing AcroYoga.


Whoever and wherever you are,to sustain a good partnership isto create a vision for yourselves.It can be as simple as workingtowards having a smoothcalibrated practice that works toboth strengths. It could be, as bigas wanting to change the worldin some way. Whatever it is,'your vision will define yourpractise' and where you might beheading long term.

Each partnership is very uniqueand to define where you bothwould like to be, your vision andlong term goals will help youwith the focus of your practice.Some partnerships do AcroYogafor the pleasure of connectionand enjoyment. Beauty of bigvisions might not come into it.However, the longer you start towork with AcroYoga, the biggerthe goals are and so defining apractice early on bringsexcitement and enjoyment thatwill last.

Repetition is the mother of skill.

VISION


It's very easy for a lot of partnershipsto miss a very important thing as theyare drawn to the next best thing.Repeating the same thing over andover correctly, will result in a smoothflow which is what most desire butvery rarely achieve. It has been theculture in AcroYoga to forget it is anart, and sometimes the elegance anddesire to perfect somehow is lost.

With my first partner, we use to talkabout how 'pretty came later'. It's aconcept that I debate with since afamous quote stuck with me whenattending gymnastics at a young age.'Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfectpractice makes perfect'

Being a trained dancer, we weretrained to 'fake it' , in the aim to lookperfect. So, if something goes wrong,we don't show it. We smile and carryon, we don't sing to the music orcount with our voices. Emotion,particularly in ballet felt forbidden.

We needed to conform and look likeeveryone else. So, when training we allwere striving to be the best in theclass, competing against one anotherto eventually be chosen for a solo in aperformance or pas de deux. Fortunately AcroYoga is a much moreforgiving open art , accepting of avariety of body types and differenttrainings. Working within acommunity there will always besupport.


S E Q U E N C I N G

T R A N S I T I O N I N G


C R E A T I V E S E Q U E N C I N G

Sequencing has been something that has fascinated me. To theuntrained eye, after a while with AcroYoga, everything just

looks like it moves round and around. The easiest of poses arethe most rewarding to the audience, whereas some of the most

difficult transitions or poses just go over their heads. Withthis in mind, it's very different choreographing for an

untrained eye compared to AcroYoga/Acrobats observing.

When establishing what you are sequencing for, this will leadto great success. For the benefit of understanding, our focus

will be for creative choreography for an audience and for classlevels.

Being creative, is one of the most desirable outlets for an

artist. Although, I certainly believe all of us are creative, ittakes time to tap into and understand your creative capacity.Being creative also needs time spent just doing, and if we areunsure of how to be creative or don't know where to start it

may just gradually arrive in the doing.

Being creative is finding the ability to solve a problem. It isways of thinking differently and outside of the box. Some do

this in maths (which is why mathematicians are incrediblygood at AcroYoga) Others do this with design, art, movement

and music. Probably 99% of the time we have to thinkcreatively in going through our every day lives.


C H O R E O G R A P H Y

To portray through AcroYoga choreography, is already having the end inmind. What is it you would like to achieve? Starting with a story starts to openthe conversation. By having this story in place, how is this then reflected intomovement? Creating limitation within the movement is also anotherinteresting way of solving a the creative problem. For example moving only inspecific plane lines or using no hands can produce interesting choreographicresults.

Finding certain movements you are inspired by over the internet is also a niceway to get you started. Our philosophy is that you don't have to always havethe base lying on his back. The partnership can move, dance, flow in asynchronised yoga. This is then a way of fully expressing yourself.

Each partnership is different and working to your strengths creatively will bewhat defines your movement. Looking at a hard trick as opposed to where youare is the difference between art and sport. It's definitely to be encouraged tohave challenges, however looking for soft flowing movement requiresrepetition, drilling and ideally full execution of the movement each time for assequence.


Working creatively does define foundations. Over the next part of the book, we lookat various foundations and elements that progress you through the syllabus. You will

find elements of Lbase poses, Hand to Hand Progressions, Therapeutic Flying andLevel 1-3 Sequences. This syllabus has been tried and tested within the studio, This

is for students and teachers, and is an ongoing and ever growing tool.

B O D Y S H A P E S

T E R M I N O L O G YBecoming aware of AcroYoga / Gymnastics / Yoga terminology is

essential to for successful communication. Here are nine variationsof body shapes to help with

your vocabulary.


1. 2. 3.

4.

5. 6.

7.

8.

9.

S H A P E S

1. Arch

2. Straight

3. Hollow

4. Tuck

5. Stag

6. Straddle

7. Pike

8. Pike straddle

9. Split

H A N D G R I P S

T E R M I N O L O G Y

In AcroYoga, there are three main handgrips.On the next page you will see the illustrations of;

1. Reverse Hand To Hand Grip (RH2H)

2. Hand To Hand Grip (H2H)3. Foot to Hand (FTH)


1. 2.

3.

L B A S E T E C H N I Q U E S

L E V E L 1 : B I R D / F R O N T P L A N KThe Art of AcroYoga


S P O T T I N G T E C H N I Q U E S

S P O T T I N GThe Art of AcroYoga


In AcroYoga, there is the possibility to work without spotters if you find yourselfwithout any. You do need to assess the environment and have a accurate self

assessment of how you feel, your ability as well as transparency from your partner.Establish your safety by using padded mat area, crash mats and a coach. Going slow,

will help you progress faster in the long run.

If you have a spotter (a third person) make sure you have placed the spotter so thathe/she is both able to give feedback and spot both base and flyer.The spotter wants tobe able to give any feed back, adjustment cues that they can see, whilst ready to catchthe flyer. The idea is to keep them in the air, so being close to their hips will give an

easier indication as to where to stand, the kind of stance and support as an activespotter. We would fully recommend spending time with a coach to gain full

understanding with any intricate spotting.

H O W T O :

FLYER: Stand tall, straight and look straightahead. Start to pour your weight to

the base offering hands forward.

BASE: Make sure you can feel flyers feet andensure your sacrum is on the mat. With your feet

positioned in parallel -on the hips of the flyer, bend your knees to

gently receive the flyers weight.

H O W T O :

FLYER: Keep tight and straight in the body,push up with arms and lift legs once weight is

over the base's hips. When aligned and vertical,keep straight in the arms. Point toes and zip upthe legs, and maintain tightness in the stomach.

BASE: Push up with straight arms and legs whenreceiving the flyer's weight over the the hips.

Keep wrists in line with shoulders, and maintainyour hands at shoulders width. Legs are 90

degrees, Continue to keep legs and arms verticaland straight. If hamstrings are tight, roll up a

mat and place under the sacrum to easehamstrings. This will also to help find vertical

alignment, where we can have a bend in the legsand feet are stacked over the hips.


L B A S E T E C H N I Q U E

L E V E L 2 : S T R A D D L E T H R O N EThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O - S T E P O N E :

FLYER: Keep tight and straight in the body,push up with arms and lift legs once weight is

over the base's hips. When aligned and vertical,keep straight in the arms. Point toes and zip upthe legs, and maintain tightness in the stomach.

BASE: Push up with straight arms and legs whenreceiving the flyer's weight over the hips. Keepwrists in line with shoulders and maintain yourhands at shoulder’s width. Legs are 90 degrees.

Continue to keep legs and arms vertical andstraight.

If hamstrings are tight, roll up a mat and placeunder the sacrum to ease hamstrings. This willalso to help find vertical alignment, where we

can have a bend in the legs and feet are stackedover the hips.


H O W T O : S T E P T W O

FLYER: Continue from step one, base places foot under the hamstring. Wrap yourleg in front of the base's shin and hook with the foot. Start to shift yourweight to sit on the base's foot, then bring your other knee forward and repeat theprocess on the other side.

BASE: Place your foot half way along the hamstring, keeping your feet parallel toeach other.

FLYER: Be patient, keep your arms straight as the base bends his knees making iteasier for you to sit up. Hooking with both feet will help you find stability in thepose.

BASE: Bend your knees while also keeping your arms straight. (Keeping the armsstraight while bending the knees requires concentration).

FLYER: Sit tight, knees a little closer together if too wide. Hands to your knees orprayer position. Sink down into the pose.

BASE: Straighten the legs to 90 degrees, gradually and slowly.

FLYER: Offer your hands, but sit and wait patiently for the base to slowly loweryou down. Only once you have full hand connection, can you give base weight.

BASE: Arms are up reaching for the flyer with hands turned out. Slowly bend yourlegs.



L E V E L 2 : T H R O N E / C H A I RThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O :

FlyerFoundation: Stand facing away, an inch above the base's shoulders.

Action: Begin to sit and keep active legs whilst being lifted. Knees at a 90 degreeangle, legs hip distance apart.Dismount: Keep your shape of the legs until you feel your feet touch the floor.Tip: An adjustment of foot placement might be necessary by shifting weight andlifting sitting bones. This is once the base has reached his end range orstraightened his legs.

BaseFoundation: Hold onto the ankles with thumbs facing inwards. Bend the kneestowards chest and place flexed feet on the flyer's sitting bones.

Action: Once the flyer sits onto your feet, simultaneously extend arms and legs tolift flyer into position. Change hand placement to the soles of the flyers feet,fingers facing out.

Dismount: Take hand placement back onto the ankles. Bend legs and arms toallow flyer to touch floor just above shoulders. Slowly let go once they are safelyon the ground.

Tip: If hip flexibility restricts entry, hold happy baby pose whilst flyer sits.


L E V E L 1 : H I G H F L Y I N G W H A L EThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O

Flyer

Foundation: Stand facing away an inch above the base's shoulders.

Action: Slowly leaning back to allow the base's feet to make contact on the shoulderblades. Relax the arms to the side, slowly dropping the head once the base has foundbalance.

Dismount: Tuck chin to chest and allow feet to be placed on floor.

Tip: As proportions and flexibility may be a challenge, try adapting to the base bybending legs, or ask for the spotter to brace the base's legs for extra support.

Base:

Foundation: Hold onto the ankles with thumbs facing inwards. Bring flexed toes tomake contact on the flyer's back.

Action: Bend legs to receive weight. Simultaneously lift flyer's legs.Straighten both arms and legs at a diagonal past 90 degrees, to find a counterbalance.

Dismount: Bend arms and knees slightly. Push with ball of the foot to help flyer out,and releasing the ankles.

Tip 1: With a lot of weight in the arms, move the legs further away from you to allowcounterbalance.

Tip 2: Check with the flyer what type of back bend they have before you begin. Agood comfortable start is parallel feet on the shoulder blades.



L E V E L 2 : F O O T T O S H I NThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O

Flyer

Foundation: From Bird, legs are active, shoulders are over the base's shoulders and shiftof weight is easy.

Action: Slowly shift weight and lift hip for the base to take away a foot. Bring your kneeto your chest and place your foot straight just below the knee and inline with the shinbone. Continue to have slight pressure in the hands for support and repeat on the otherside.

Tip: It's normal to fall off from one side. Find the weight shift and keep the weightvertical down the shin bone. Continue to ask the base to bring the legs in and use youradductors (inner thighs) to keep the legs hip distance.

Base:

Action: From Bird take a foot out (indicating to the flyer which foot) and tuck knee tochest. Continue to keep arms straight and stacked as flyer applies pressure so that flyercan shift weight. Place hand above the foot, thumbs outwards. Pull down and applypressure to keep stability of the flyer. Once repeated on the other side, keep legs hipdistance apart. Brace with your arms to the knees for extra support.

Tip: Flexibility does help for comfort. Ease into this pose and its possible to lift the legsas long as the shins are horizontal.


L E V E L 2 : S H I N T O F O O TThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O

Flyer:

Foundation from foot to shin: Standing on the base's shins, feet parallel and legs hipdistance a part.

Action: Weight into the base's hands, shoulders stacked; tuck one knee to chest. Once thefoot is placed on flyer's shin bone, keep the hips down and tuck other knee in. As long asbase's legs are vertical this can be a position to relax into. Legs are hip distance apart andpossible to let go of the hands.

Tip: If base legs are stacked, and flyer still feels like they are falling, ask for more ball ofthe foot.

Base:

Foundation from foot to shin: Both knees are to the chest, legs hip distance apart. Armsare straight and vertical to keep support of the flyer.

Action: Place foot parallel, below the knee of the flyer and straighten leg to vertical.Continue with straight arms as flyer shifts weight. Repeat on the other side. Keep hold ofthe hands and emotionally support flyer in this vulnerable position. Let go of the handsgradually if enough trust has been built and stillness has been found.

Tip: Push with the ball of the foot (flexing from the ankle) to help with extra lift when theflyer is in full child pose.



L E V E L 3 : B A C K B I R DThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O :

Flyer:

Foundation: Stand away from the base at the sacrum about a foot distance apart.

Action: Hold onto the base's ankles with thumbs facing inwards. Lean slowly backkeeping hold of the ankles whilst driving the weight over the hips. Stag the leg once

the feet don't touch the floor. Once the base is balanced, let go of the ankles andrelax the arms by your side.

Dismount: Hold onto the ankles, bring chin to chest , to slowly come to standing.

Tip: The leg that is stagged , can use as a lever, while using the range of motion -

this helps with the distribution of the weight.

Base:

Foundation: Touch the heels of the flyer's feet with the tips of your fingers, so thatthe flyer is close enough. Place feet parallel onto the sit bones.

Action: As the flyer pours weight over the hips, bend to receive the weight. Push up

to straighten legs at a 90 degree angle.

Dismount: Bend the knees to slowly descend the flyer to the floor.

Tip: Have hands available, pull down the flyers shoulders or arms to help bring theweight over.


L E V E L 4 : S H O U L D E R S T A N DThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O

Flyer:Foundation: In Bird, legs lifted and full body inline. Holding onto the base's arms 3/4way up, thumbs inwards and elbows in.

Action: Allow the base to tip you whilst maintaining a straight body. Hips are overthe shoulders, and continue to keep tight in the body and allow the base to balanceyou.

Dismount: Continue to keep straight whilst pulling to allow for a gentle dismount..

BaseFoundation: In Bird, allow the flyer to take your straight arms. Wrists over shoulders.

Action: Tip the flyer forwards into your hands by bending the knees. Slowly press herin with the balls of the feet till her hips are over. Hand placement is holding onto thetraps where it feels like a perfect fit for the hands.

Dismount: Flex the toes and bend the knees to receive the weight.


L E V E L 4 : V I S H N U C O U C HThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O

FlyerFoundation:Stand a foot away beside the base's hips. Weight on the outside leg, turning insidefoot facing towards the base. Hips are square with a cross over hand to handconnection.

Action: Pouring weight over the base's hips, stepping with inside leg and liftingoutside leg. Pressing into the hands to create lift in the chest, releasing inside armto point in the direction to where you are going (TikTok).Allow space for the arch of the foot. Once placed, place arm on the side of the legand close the gap by pressing down. Stack your hips by lifting top leg and keepingbottom leg anchored. Raise your free arm upwards

Dismount:

Tip: draw lower ribs in to avoid arching & listen to the base for corrections.

Base:Foundation: Offering cross over hand to hand connection and foot placement justunder the hip bone. The unused leg can be ready to receive weight or foot placedon the floor to help stabilise.

Action: Bend to receive weight to straighten leg inline with the hip whilstkeeping resistance in the hands.With the foot that is free, place in the arch of the foot in the middle of thearmpit. Straighten the leg and rotate legs to an equal shape.

Dismount:

Tip: If going straight into TikTok continues to being unsuccessful, start fromStraddle Bat to TikTok.


H O W T O : S T E P T W O

Flyer

Foundation: Stand away from the base, standing behind the sit bone. Hold ontothe ankles ,thumbs facing inwards.

Action: Lean the weight back over the base's hips and bend the elbows whilstcontinuing to hold the ankles. Stag the leg and when the weight has been lifteddrop the head.Once the base has stabilised and legs are accurately angled, slowly release thehands. Leg variations are optional as long as it is slow and gradual.

Dismount: Tuck chin to chest, hold onto the ankles and allow the base to slowlylower you down.

Base:Foundation: Check you can touch the back of the flyers heels. Place feet parallelonto the sacrum.

Action: Bend legs to receive weight catching the inside of elbows with a little pull(if needed). Straighten legs at 90 degrees & push with the balls of feet for extralift.

Dismount: Bend knees and place flyer gently down with resistance from the legsto go out.Tip: Check the flyers back before doing Backbird and where the flyer thinks itmight be comfortable.



L E V E L 5 : S T A RThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O

Flyer

Foundation: Stand above base's head with a hand to hand connection. Offershoulders with balls of feet onto traps. Drop head slowly with weight pouredtowards base's heads. Round the spine to come up onto balls of the feet.

Actions: When jumping into a tuck, push into the hands with a big jump.Continue to keep in a tuck until there is balance from the base with elbows atright angle. Brace back of head against shins, if base turns feet out.

Dismount: Keep your shape whilst the base lowers you to the groundTips: Understand your orientation in the air, practice handstands or shoulderstands with leg variations.

Tip 2: Allow the base to balance you, rather than trying to balance. It's ok to havethe hips back rather than completely stacked depending on body type.

Tip 3: If there is no weight in the hands, it's possible for foot placement, howeveralso explore your hips by bringing them forwards (opening hips) towards thebase's head.

Base:Foundation:Bending the arms with resistance with a hand to hand grip. Offer feet in a slighthappy baby with balls of the feet on flyer's traps.

Action: Wait for flyer's hips over to gently straighten both legs and arms. Turnheels inwards to allow the flyer to brace back of head.

Dismount: Bend knees and arms whilst keeping the flyer balanced. Allow flyer todescend down to the floor once reaching capacity.



L E V E L 6 : C R O CThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O :

Flyer: Face towards the base's legs at a 45 degree angle. If you are using theright leg as the base, take the left foot as support. Place the crook of yourelbow and slide in at an angle over the right foot. Closing the gap betweenthe forearm and the leg creates connection.

Action: Pour weight over base's hips pushing into base's left foot to helpsupport and lift the chest. Tuck or raise the legs, lifting the hips slightly.Once legs are lifted (and play with the lifting of the tail bone if legs don'tlift), spot with your left hand (if balancing on the right) and continue tolift your chest. Eventually spotting will become light in the hands and willbe able to let go of the hand.

Base: Receive the weight in by bending the leg. Start to straighten onceflyer's hips are over your hips. Have the other leg available for support forthe flyer.

Tip: If you straighten the leg too soon and the flyer isn't over and stackedwith the hips, the flyer will fall out. Be patient with receiving the weight.


H A N D T O H A N DT E C H N I Q U E

L E V E L 1 : 1 L E G T U C K S I TThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O :

Flyer:Foundation: Stand facing towards the base and offer shoulders. Hands slide to the

calf, fingers pointing downwards with a little push.

Action: With agreed entry in rocking in, look down towards the base's belly buttonand jump straddle or tuck whilst pushing down with the hands. Once hips are over,

turn and slide hands outwards with a pulling action.Find stillness by allowing the base to balance you. Find leg variations once balancedDismount: Keep your shape and switch hand grip to push against the legs. Wait until

the base lowers you ,to gently land.

Tip: The trunk of where the hips need to be above the base's hips. To do this, avoidleaning back and opening hips

Base:

Foundation - Place arch of foot onto the traps.

Action - Once agreed with rocking entry, flex heels and wait for flyer's hips to comeover. Slowly straighten legs to 90 degrees.

Dismount - Slowly bend knees and gently allow the flyer to land.

Tip: Communicate to the flyer what she looks like , and to give emotional

reassuranceRocking Action* Decide together whether you will rock in and out x 2 before

jumping in ,or if you will jump in straight away.


L E V E L 1 : R E V E R S E F O O T T O H A N DThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O

Foundation: Standing away from the base above shoulders, Sit into throne byactively lifting the legs at right angles whilst base receives weight. Once in throne,allow the base to find correct hand connection

Action: As the base lowers his/her elbows to the ground, once you have felt elbowson the floor start to stand. It's ok to use feet to spot yourself to stand.Maintain flat feet throughout by locking ankles.Finding stillness, lift chest and spot yourself with the base's feet to help commit to astand.

Dismount: Sit back to throne when the base has communicated this.

Tip: Find stillness by finding a solid straight pose 'Like a plank of wood'.

BaseFoundation: Hold onto the ankles , thumbs facing inwards. Allow the flyer to sitinto your happy baby. Straighten arms & legs into throne.

Action:Bending and lowering the flyer with elbows hugging torso. Once in correct angleswith wrist and arms, push with balls of the feet for flyer to stand. Continue to spotwith feet when necessary.To balance the flyer after correct positioning, encourage to find stillness betweenyou both.

Dismount: Place balls of feet onto sit bones, receive the weight by bending legs andstraightening arms. Change hand placement to ankles to lower flyer down.


L E V E L 1 : F O O T T O H A N DThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O

Calibration: Check foot to hand connection with no body weight.Foundation: Flyer lies on her stomach. Base places hands on the feet.Regular grip: hold the arch of the foot, 1/2 peace fingers with finger tips onto theheel.Reverse grip: Facing away from the flyer, hands turned out holding the arch of thefoot. Index finger released in preparation for Rhand to hand grip (avoid crushingflyers hands).

FlyerFoundation: Standing above base's shoulders, Hold onto the base's feet for support.Standing into the hands allowing for the base to find correct hand placement.Action: Lifting leg and allow base to find elbows in and correct positioning for thehand in wrist. Pour weight into the base's feet for support whilst lifting the otherfoot. Lock the ankles finding the position of lifting the heels.Finding stillness, lift chest and spot yourself with the base's feet to help commit to astand.Dismount: Pour weight from the hands into the base's feet. Step through the base'slegs for exit.Tip: Find stillness by finding a solid straight pose 'Like a plank of wood'.

BaseFoundation: Offer straight 90 degrees feet and allow flyer to step into hands. Adjustthe hand placement by communicating which hand. This can be done by a squeeze ofthe foot.Action: Squeeze the foot which you'd like to lift. Place elbow towards the torso,maintaining a right angle of wrist stacked over the elbow.To balance the flyer after correct positioning, encourage to find stillness betweenyou both.Dismount: Open legs and squeeze the foot that you'd like the flyer to step off.Release the foot.Tip: Push through the knuckles to help find stability whilst being kind with thestrength of the grip.Tip 2: Balance the flyer as if she is a plank of wood.



L E V E L 2 : T U C K S I T S


H O W T O

Regular Tuck sitFlyer

Foundation:Standing towards the base, just above the base's shoulders. Offering hand to hand

grip, shoulders over shoulders. Rounding the spine, pulling belly in.Action:

Slowly bringing knee to chest whilst matching other knee, maintaining evenweight distributed in both hands with straight arms. If flexibility and strength

allows, straighten legs into Lsit.Tip : Check hand connection and communicate what you need.

Tip 2: Squeeze arms to thighs to help with lift

ReverseFlyer (Reverse)

Foundation:Standing towards the base, just below the base's shoulders. Offering reverse hand

to hand grip, shoulders over shoulders. Rounding the spine, pulling belly in.Action:

Slowly bringing one knee to chest to the match the other in a tuck sit whilstmaintaining even weight distributed in both hands with straight arms. Press with

the big knuckles to maintain stacked connection. Straighten legs to Lsit ifflexibility and strength allows.

Base:Foundation: Offer Hands turned out (reverse) or hand to hand grip with straight

arms above the shoulders.Action: Maintain the platform the flyer needs by keeping straight arms, stillness

and the correct surface to push against.Tip: Reverse hand to hand grip, requires a flat strong surface. To create this, lift

the side of the hand (creating a wall) whilst pushing with the big knuckle


L O N G A R M F O O T T O H A N DBecoming aware of AcroYoga / Gymnastics / Yoga terminology is

essential to for successful communication. Here are nine variationsof body shapes to help with

your vocabulary.


Box up & Long arm

Flyer

Foundation: Stand above base's shoulders, Hold onto the base's feet for support.

Stand into the hands allowing for the base to find correct hand placement.Action: Lifting leg and allow base to find elbows in, and correct positioning for

the hand in wrist. Pour weight into the base's feet to lift hips, whilst basestraightens the arms. (Box up)

If happy, start to commit to your stand. Two spotters on the side to keep you safe ifneeded.

Lock the ankles finding the position of lifting the heels.Finding stillness, lift chest and spot yourself with the base's feet to help commit to

a stand.

Dismount: Fold to hold onto the base's feet. Allow the base to lower you. Pourweight from the hands into the base's feet. Step through the base's legs for exit

Tip: Find stillness by finding a solid straight pose 'Like a plank of wood'.

Base

Foundation: Offer straight 90 degrees feet and allow flyer to step into hands.Adjust the hand placement by communicating which hand. This can be done by a

squeeze of the foot.

Action: Squeeze the foot of which you'd like to lift. Place elbow towards the torso,maintaining a right angle of wrist stacked over the elbow.

As the flyer pushes into your feet to lift hips, straighten arms.To balance the flyer after correct positioning, encourage to find stillness between

you both.

Dismount: Lower the flyer down either by the flyer slightly tipping forwards orholding onto your feet. Open legs and squeeze the foot that you'd like the flyer to

step off. Release the foot.Tip: Push through the knuckles to help find stability whilst being kind with the

strength of the grip.Tip 2: Balance the flyer as if she is a plank of wood.

H2h from backbird


R E G U L A R H A N D T O H A N D

In AcroYoga, there are two main handgrips (and a foot to handgrip).

On the next page you will see the illustrations of;

1. Reverse Hand To Hand Grip (RH2H)2. Hand To Hand Grip (H2H)

3. Foot to Hand (FTH)


1. 2.

3.

H2h from backbirdFlyer

Foundation: Stand away from the base, standing behind the sitting bone. Holdonto the ankles , thumbs facing inwards.

Action: Lean the weight back over the base's hips and bend the elbows whilstcontinuing to hold the ankles. Stag the leg and when the weight has been lifted

drop the head , and offer straight arms with hand to hand grip.The position we aim for is a diagonal without breaking the line. Lift the legswhilst keeping stagged. Once lowered into hands, straighten the stagged leg

whilst being spotted on the back. Allow the base to balance you whilst keepingyour shape.

Dismount:Agree first how you are coming down. An exit can be falling back into backbird

with the allowance of the base catching you.

Base:Foundation: Check you can touch the back of the flyer's heels. Place feet parallel

onto the sacrum. It may need to be slightly higher depending the height of theflyer (we want to get under the flyer).

Action: Bend legs to receive weight, catching the inside of elbows with a littlepull (if needed). Straighten legs at 90 degrees & push with the balls of feet for

extra lift.Find hand to hand grip with straight arms. We want to keep the line of the flyer.

As we push with the balls of the feet we bend the arms lowering the flyer intoyour hands. The timing we aim for is when our elbows are down, the flyer has

been tipped into their straight line. Balance the flyer the same way you would doin foot to hand, maintaining good connection in the hands

Dismount: Agree for the flyer to fall backBend knees once weight is received and place flyer gently down with resistance

from the hands that open the flyer's arms out, then give support to allow theflyer to press to stand.

Tip: If we see the line breaking we stop, potentially adjusting the foot positionTip 2: Communicating to the flyer

T H E R A P E U T I C F L Y I N G

L E V E L 1 : F O L D E D L E A FThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O :

Flyer:

Foundation: Stand legs straddled, behind the base's sacrum. Allowthe base to place the feet in the right position.

Action: Offer hands forward, drive weight over the base's hips

whilst keeping a straddle. Forward fold with the feeling of heavylegs. Allow the palms to face upwards with no weight in the

hands.

Tip: If base's feet feel uncomfortable, press into his hands to lift aleg to replace the foot. Your back should be long and elongated asopposed to rounded. If this happens, play with foot placement to

allow traction in the spine.

Base:

Foundation: Place feet turned out, under the hip bones.

Action: Receive weight of the flyer over the hips. Handconnection is turned out with arms straight. Allow the flyer to

fold forwards whilst keeping 90 degrees in the legs.

Tip: Place your hand on the middle of the flyer's back for them torelax and ground so their back can gently lengthen. If the backdoes not lengthen, you may have the feet too high up on the hip

bones. Replace the foot placement.



L E V E L 2 : S U P E R Y O G IThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O :

Flyer:

Foundation: Stand legs straddled, behind the bases sacrum. Allow

the base to place the feet in the right position.

Action: Offer hands forward, drive weight over the base's hipswhilst keeping a straddle. Forward fold with the feeling of heavy

legs. Allow the palms to face upwards with no weight in thehands. The base will guide your hands together, create a pistol

grip with the hands.

Tip: Keep the feeling of the feet heavy

Base:

Foundation: Place feet turned out, under the hip bones.

Action from folded leaf: With palms facing away with handsturned out, scoop the flyers wrists in between the thumb and theindex finger. Bring the arms outwards and around. Connect the

forearms so the flyer can rest gently against you. Once in a sturdyposition, draw your legs past 90 degree's (away from you) and

gently pull the flyers wrists to allow a full traction in the spine.Rock forwards and back until finished.

Dismount: Release the grip and guide the flyer back to foldedleaf. Find the hand grip to push up the flyers torso and lead her

down



L E V E L 3 : R E V E R S E N A M A S K AThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O :

FlyerFoundation from super yogi: Once the base places his hands on elbows, bringhands into prayer position and bend arms behind in reverse namaska. Encourageto bring the elbows together if flexibility allows.

Action: Once stable in the arm position, slowly bring the soles of the feettogether into badakanasa or also known as butterfly pose.

Tip: Look after your lower back by making sure you can see your feet

BaseAction from super yogi: Indicate to the flyer by squeezing one arm, that you willbe lifting the hand to the elbow. Allow them to push into the opposite arm toremove a hand. Place hand onto the elbow and repeat. With straight arms, cupboth of the elbows

Dismount: Slowly slide hands back to wrists as flyer straightens the arms.Gradually guide the flyer back to folded leaf. Find the hand grip to push up theflyers torso and lead her down

T H E R A P E U T I CT E C H N I Q U E

L E V E L 4 : H I P P Y T W I S TThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O

Flyer

Foundation from folded leaf: Allow the base to reach the traps.

Action: As the base lifts your torso, bring your arms behind you, clasp your elbowswith your hands. Sequentially, bring the soles of feet together into badakanasana.

Dismount: When chest is lowered, straighten legs. Push into the base's hands to pushup to standing.

Tip: When chest is lowered, straighten legs to create a shelf for the base.

Base:

Foundation from folded leaf: Place heel of the hands onto the traps above the collarbone. Straighten arms to lift flyer

Action: Bend one leg to allow for a twist for the flyer. Bend opposite leg to arm toallow for a bigger and fuller expression.

Dismount: Gently transition back to folded leaf. Find hand connection to supportthe flyer and lead the flyer out.

Tip: Using the breath together with the twist will allow the flyers to relax and movein and out of the twists with ease.


S E Q U E N C E S

L E V E L 1 : S E Q U E N C EThe Art of AcroYoga


S E Q U E N C E S

L E V E L 2 : S E Q U E N C EThe Art of AcroYoga


T R A N S I T I O N S

In this sequence you have already learnt the majority of the movement. It is now thatwe want to piecethe transitions together. For clarity, we will only talk through the transitions thatare missing. Therefore, we will focus on the transition from Straddle Throne ToThrone.


T R A N S I T I O N

L E V E L 2 : T H R O N E T O F O O T T O S H I NThe Art of AcroYoga


H O W T O


Flyer

Foundation Throne: Legs hip distance apart, legs are active and sitting tall.

Action: Once base places flyers feet onto the shin bones, simultaneously start to stand as basebends knees. It's important to do a together motion and to commit to standing. To go back to

Throne, start to bend as base straightens legs.

Tip: Communicate when you will do the action together.

Base:

Foundation: Legs are vertical, arms are straight.

Action: Base places flyer's feet onto the shin bones, simultaneously start to stand as basebends knees. It's important for to do a together motion and to commit.. To go back to Throne,

start to straighten legs as flyer sits.

Tip: Since shin to foot is quite a vulnerable position, emotionally support the flyer with verbalcues.

T R A N S I T I O N

L E V E L 2 : S H I N T O F O O T T OS T R A D D L E T H R O N E

The Art of AcroYoga


Flyer

Foundation from Shin to Foot: Legs hip distance apart, hips are down and head isrelaxed.

Action: Placing slight pressure into the base's hands, shift weight to offer hamstring.Wrap leg around the front of base's leg. Sit onto base's foot. Repeat on the other side.

Tip: Allow enough space in this transition for the base to reach your hamstring.

Base:

Foundation: Legs are vertical, with slight pressure from the ball of the foot for extra lift.Arms are straight ready to spot or support.

Action: Once there is support in the hands with straight arms, release one foot. Turn the

foot slightly inwards and place just under the hamstring. Repeat on the other side.

Tip: Keep straight arms throughout this transition.

HOW TO

T R A N S I T I O N

L E V E L 2 : T H R O N E T O H I G H F L Y I N GW H A L E

The Art of AcroYoga


Flyer

Foundation from Throne: Legs hip distance apart, active legs.

Action: Shift weight onto base's foot, allow base to take other foot away. Stay still whilstbeing lowered. Once you feel base's foot, lean back into the support of the base's foot. Lift

hips and allow for other foot to be replaced. Straighten legs and relax head at the end.

Tip: Move slowly.

Base:

Foundation from Throne: Legs are vertical, arms are straight.

Action: From Throne, squeeze the ankle of the foot you'd like to take out. Bend thesupporting leg, whilst drawing a line with the other foot up the flyers back. Flex the foot

onto the back, take away foot from sit bones to replace on the upper back. Adjusthandgrip to ankles.

Tip: Feet parallel onto the shoulder blades.

S E Q U E N C I N G I N L E V E L S

One of the joys that a lot of our students continued to express, was the aspect oflearning and progressing in sequences. The sequences are designed to have anelement of success from learning the majority of foundations at a lower level, whilstlearning new transitions and washing machines to give variety and a little bit ofchallenge.

Sequencing and learning transitions is something detailed and intricate. It took ustime to piece together progressive sequences to allow students to progress at a pacewhere they don't jump into poses and transitions they aren't ready for. The sequencesare also tried and tested at the studio with both students and teachers to test theprogression and how it can suit different abilities.At the moment we have 10 levels, which allow students to find foundations insequencing to become an advanced practitioner creatively.

Our mission is that our world needs more art, more dreamers, more expression, funand fulfillment. We aim toreconnect people to their childhood dream, sense or feeling that they would one daydo somethingamazing and beautiful.

Our online academy allows students to progress safely with a AcroYogaDanceTeacher helping with analysis. The Art of AcroYoga is beyond words on a piece ofpaper. For more information please contact [email protected] / pipelysium.com

Sequencing comes with patience and time. Enjoy and trust the journey of thisbeautiful partnership practice.


C R E D I T S

Photographers:

Ray Man Garnier@myplacebythebeach

Dimitar Hristov@dimitar_hr

[email protected]

Ed [email protected]

Yvonne [email protected]

Base Collaborations:

Eugene [email protected]

Tom [email protected]


C R E D I T S

Tom Wilson [email protected]

Shelby [email protected]

Mark [email protected]

Illustrator:

Paul [email protected]

Associations

AcroYogaDancewww.acroyogadance.com

School of AcroYogawww.schoolofacroyoga.com

Pip Elysiumpipelysium.com


T H E A R T O F A C R O Y O G A - Pip Elysium

Documents

Transcript of T H E A R T O F A C R O Y O G A - Pip Elysium